Lucky
by delovlies
Summary: In which Race's birthday present for Jack doesn't quite turn out like he expects.


**A/N: I've been wanting to write Newsies stories for a while now, and since I needed to get out of post-news of newsies closing slump, I figured I might attempt it! Here goes nothing…**

Race was incredibly pleased with himself. Jack was going to be so surprised, and once he got over his initial surprise, he was going to love his gift. And Race had got an amazing deal on it. He couldn't wait to see Jack's face when he saw it.

Unable to stop grinning, he walked down the street to the Lodging House, leading Jack's gift behind him. He ignored the stares and whispers he got from every single passerby on the street, too pleased to care. The leader of the Manhattan newsies may have forgotten all about his birthday, but the newsies certainly hadn't. It had originally been Katherine's idea to have a surprise party, and they'd been planning the party for weeks now. It had barely stayed under wraps, especially when Jack had found a box of party streamers in Mush's bag. And when Romeo had walked in to ask them about the party, not knowing Jack was already in the room. And when Specs had…well, it was probably best not to discuss that.

Katherine's frantic and sometimes disorganized party planning had thrown them all into a tizzy, Davey and Les had been hiding all of the supplies at their apartment, Mrs. Jacobs had been cooking furiously since last Friday, the rest of the newsies were currently attempting to decorate the lodging house, Crutchie was trying to stall Jack to give them time to finish, and Race, well, Race had just gotten the best present Jack would get that night.

It stopped _again_ to nibble at some grass coming up through the cracks of the sidewalk, and Race tugged at the lead around his neck. "Come on, little guy." He said, ignoring more stares. The brown and white goat refused to budge, so Race lifted him up. He carried the goat the rest of the way to the lodging house, wondering just what the man that had sold him to Race had been feeding him to make him so heavy when he looked lightAs soon as he pushed the door open, the goat jumped out of his arms and ran straight into Specs.

"What on earth?" the astonished newsie asked, staring at the goat that was now nibbling on his shoes. Specs pulled off his glasses and wiped them, then looked back at the goat. It was still there. "What'd ya do this time, Race?" he asked.

"Dat's Jack's present!" he protested, once again lifting the goat. "An' he is a reg-u-lar one hundred percent, genuine goat from Santa Fe." Race said proudly. "Feller that sold 'im to me said so. And Jack is gonna love 'im." He pushed past Specs and met Davey next. He stopped and did a double take.

"What is that?" Davey asked, incredulous.

"It's Jack's present. Name's Lucky, and he's a goat all the way from Santa Fe." Race explained. "What happened to ya, Dave? You used t' be smart!" The goat that had just been christened Lucky again squirmed his way out of Race's arms, and began untying Davey's shoes.

"Hey!" he shouted, jumping back as Lucky succeeded. Race laughed and herded Lucky into the kitchen. Mush, Albert, and JoJo stopped decorating and crowded around him, as incredulous as Davey and Specs had been. Race took their surprise as jealously for his incredible gift-giving skills.

"Why'd ya call 'im Lucky?" Albert asked.

"Cause I got the money for 'im in a lucky poker game. And if ya look at his back, you will see that it looks like the back of a playin' card." Race said, proudly showing Lucky off.

As the other newsies exchanged looks, Katherine walked in. Her arms were full of party supplies, which she almost dropped upon sighting Lucky.

"What is _that?"_ she cried.

"Gees, can't ya all come up with something more 'riginal to say?" Race muttered. "It's Jack's present. A reg-u-lar one hundred percent, genuine goat from Santa Fe." He repeated. Katherine continued to stare in horror as Lucky trotted up to her and began to nibble on the hem of her skirt. He looked up at her and let out some kind of a bleat. It seemed to work. Katherine immediately knelt down to pet him.

"Aww, he's so cute! What's his name?"

"Lucky, 'cause his back looks like a playin' card." Race said, grabbing a cigar out of one of the bags Katherine had brought in. Just then, Boots ran in, holding onto his cap.

"E's coming! Jack's almost here!" he shouted. The next few moments the newsies and Katherine frantically put the finishing touches on the decorations, set the food Katherine had brought out, and then scurried to their hiding places. Race and Lucky crouched behind the counter as he heard the door open and Crutchie and Jack talking as they came in. Lucky squirmed, and before Race could tighten his grip, the little goat was out of his grasp and heading down the hallway towards Jack and Crutchie.

"Lucky, no!" Race whispered, watching in horror as his grand surprise disappeared for an early viewing.

"What the…?" He heard Jack say, then silence. Race heard the clatter of goat hooves on the floor, and Lucky ran back into the kitchen. Race made a grab for him as Jack yelled, "What is going on?" Race jumped out of his hiding place and ran into the hallway. "Oh, hey Jack." He said, trying to act casual. Lucky came behind him. "I don't think you've met Lucky yet. He's a reg-u-lar one hundred percent, genuine goat from Santa Fe." Race said, proudly. "So, Happy Birthday, Cowboy!" Jack looked from Race to Lucky and back at Race.

"From Santa Fe?" Race nodded. Jack took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair. "Race, I don' think they have goats in Santa Fe."

"Sure they do! Feller that sold 'im to me said so." Before Jack could respond, Lucky jumped on him, grabbed Jack's hat in his mouth, and took off. Jack leaped after him. Just as they entered the kitchen, Jack dove for his hat. Lucky skittered out of his grasp, still carrying the hat, as everyone jumped out of their hiding places, yelling, "Surprise!"

Race pulled Jack's hat out of Lucky's mouth and tossed to him. Jack sat up, rubbing his elbow. "Best birthday present ever, Race." He muttered, wiping his hat off. "Best present ever."

On the other side of the room, Race beamed.

**Hope you all enjoyed! Please review!  
~~Delovlies **


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